What is ThingLink?

“Creating an interactive virtual tour is a project that requires planning, creativity and collaboration, letting students become storytellers.”

Ulla Engestrom, Founder & CEO, ThingLink

Education is shifting from reading textbooks in the classroom to active knowledge-building through any device with an internet connection. With ThingLink, students anywhere in the world can travel across distance and time to stunning 360° environments and create virtual tours of their own.

ThingLink was founded to enable hyperlinks in images, so that whenever a learner is browsing through photographs, maps, graphs or videos, they can simply click on anything they see to find out more. At its core, ThingLink is a tool to enable visual storytelling and add context to an image. This is done by using ThingLink’s image editor to link one thing (such as a person or an object in an image) to another (that provides additional information about the first thing).

Creating an interactive image with a group of students is one of the most efficient methods of building knowledge in the classroom. Students can use various forms of text, audio, video, photography and illustrations to show and share their learning. For example, students have documented plants and animals for a virtual nature path, created a culture tour to another school and documented a field trip to a historic landmark.

Students work together to produce background research, storylines and rich multimedia documentation, which increases both cognitive and emotional engagement with the subject of the study.

ThingLink’s image and video editors are suitable for everyone - no previous technical experience is required. ThingLink offers a range of products for schools and teachers, depending on individual needs. For example, one teacher with a Pro Education subscription for $35 per year can invite up to 150 students to their group.
ThingLink images can be created and viewed on desktops, tablets, smart boards, smartphones and mobile virtual reality headsets.

HundrED Criteria

innovativeness

impact

scalability

ThingLink users are building a web of images that make it possible for students to virtually travel across distance and time to learn anything they want.

ThingLink has a variety of impacts on students, such as its ability to engage students of different ages and learning styles through the creation of digital media. It supports digital literacy, research and documentation of learning. It also develops collaboration and communication skills while engaging in real-world learning experiences.

The community is growing organically through word of mouth and there are ThingLink users in every country in the world. Today, 3 million teachers and students use ThingLink to create images and 40 million people interact with ThingLink images every month.